


A Shadow in the Night

by BrandonStrayne



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Camping, Facebook: The Pen15 is Mightier, Ghost Stories, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-04 21:19:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20477633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrandonStrayne/pseuds/BrandonStrayne
Summary: You never know what is lurking in amongst the trees...





	A Shadow in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Pen15 is Mightier Hallowang Challenge.
> 
> Much thanks to my pals [OllieMaye](https://archiveofourown.org/users/olliemaye), [Drarryismymuse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hatchersn/pseuds/Drarryismymuse), and [Keep_Calm_and_Expecto_Patronum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/keep_calm_and_expecto_patronum) for the beta.

“You can’t be serious?” Draco asked, looking around them, aghast. “You can’t honestly expect me to go traipsing through the woods _for fun_.”

Harry just laughed and climbed out of the car before circling around to the boot and pulling out two incredibly large backpacks. Donning one, he buckled the belt around his waist, relieving some of the weight from his shoulders and then slammed the boot closed before circling around to the other side of the car, where Draco was still firmly seated in the passenger seat.

The door locks clicked as Draco initiated them and Harry laughed again before casting a wordless _Alohomora_ and pulling open Draco’s car door. “Come on, D. I promise it will be fun,” Harry said, flashing Draco one of the beaming grins that always left him susceptible to any of the hare-brained suggestions that Potter came up with. That stupid smile was how Draco had found himself strapped to a blonde gentleman named Steve last year, who had then proceeded to hurl them into mid-air to their near-death.

As if he could read Draco’s thoughts, Harry’s tone became soothing. “I promise it won’t be like that time last year when I convinced you to go skydiving with me.”

Draco scowled, crossed his arms over his chest, and stared resolutely ahead through the windshield, tearing his gaze away from that damnable smile. “Why can’t we celebrate our anniversary somewhere a little more civilised...like The Savoy?”

Harry shook his head and held Draco’s backpack aloft in expectation. “You know the deal, D. You got to plan our anniversary last year, so I get to plan the celebration this year.”

“Maybe I should just be in charge of all future party planning, then,” Draco huffed.

“Would you just trust me? I think I know you well enough to know that sleeping on the ground would not put you in the mood to celebrate two years of not killing each other properly.”

Draco’s head slowly pivoted towards Harry, the only part of him that made any motion to indicate Harry was beginning to wear him down. “So we won’t be sleeping on the ground then?” he asked hesitantly.

Harry shook his head. “I borrowed the Weasleys’ tent and—”

He was cut off by Draco’s scoff, his head pivoting back around to stare resolutely anywhere but at his boyfriend, who obviously knew nothing about him. “Oh good, so a rickety set of bunk beds then. How romantic!” Draco snapped.

Harry’s face broke into a smug look which was entirely missed by his boyfriend, who was still adamantly not looking in his direction. “I was going to say, I had Hermione help me do some upgrades that I think even you will approve of.”

Draco’s chin dropped a fraction of an inch and turned the barest hint towards Harry. Harry continued, “And I also had her help me set up an Undetectable Extension Spell on a cooler that I have packed in here.” Harry held up Draco’s backpack, which was quite light compared to his own, and shook it gently, a disproportionate amount of rattling arising from the deceptive pack. “And I packed a veritable feast for us with all of your favourites.”

One of Draco’s eyebrows rose, intrigued. “Did you get the Carre du Berry that I like from that artisanal cheese maker just outside of Paris?”

“But of course,” Harry said solemnly, fighting back his amusement at Draco’s fussiness.

“Fine,” Draco huffed, finally relenting and unbuckling his seatbelt to step out of Harry’s Jeep. He huffed as Harry slid the giant backpack up his arms and settled it on his shoulders before spinning him around to fasten and adjust an incomprehensible number of buckles and straps. “If you wanted to experiment with bondage, all you had to do was ask.”

His hips jerked forward as Harry settled a thick, padded strap around them, tugging Draco close. Harry’s lips hovered just out of reach as he nuzzled his nose against Draco’s, a playful grin rounding his cheeks. “I guess we know what we’ll be doing in two years, don’t we?”

Draco tilted his head, nuzzling back while whispering in a low voice, “That’s very presumptuous of you. What makes you think I won’t find someone better who doesn’t drag me into the woods against my will?”

Harry pulled back and gave Draco a serious look. “Look, if you really don’t want to do this, we don’t have to. We can get back in the Jeep and go home right now.”

He looked so sincere and concerned that Draco felt terrible. Resolving to suck it up and stop complaining, he pulled Harry in for a soft kiss before stepping back and readjusting the straps of his pack. “Actually, I think this could be fun.”

Harry looked sceptical as he asked, “Yeah?”

Draco smiled slyly at him before turning and walking away, calling over his shoulder, “There’ll be no one around for miles. We can be as loud as we want.”

A deep laugh came from behind him, Harry picking up immediately on his meaning. “That sounds great, but umm...Draco?” Draco stopped just at the edge of the forest where it met the parking lot and turned to send a questioning look at his boyfriend. “The trail starts over here.”

Harry gestured over his shoulder where, now that Draco looked, he could see a metal sign that marked the trailhead. Without saying anything, Draco turned on his heel and walked back in the opposite direction, striding past Harry with his chin held high, leaving Harry to run and catch up with him, a variety of rattling sounds coming from his backpack.

They spent the next few hours hiking through the forest. They had passed a few hikers earlier that had been heading in the other direction, but other than that, it had just been the two of them making their way through the thick trees. For the last thirty minutes or so they had been trudging steadily uphill and Draco’s conviction to make the best of this was quickly evaporating. He was hot and sweaty and the inside of his arms were chafing from rubbing against the backpack; if they didn’t stop soon, the screams he was going to elicit from his boyfriend wouldn’t be from pleasure, but rather from the violence he was going to impart on him.

Just then, they broke through into a small meadow and Harry came to a stop. “This looks like a good place to set up camp. What do you think?”

Draco took a perfunctory look around the small clearing and nodded before beginning to try to extricate himself from the infernal contraption strapped to him. Taking pity on him, Harry came over and made quick work of all of the buckles and Draco let out a sigh of relief as the weight slid free of his shoulders. 

Harry proceeded to set up the tent and construct a small fire pit as Draco supervised from his position sprawled out on the grass. He half-heartedly offered to help, but Harry waved him off and told him to relax, so Draco collapsed into one of the folding chairs that Harry had set up around the fire and watched as his boyfriend pulled a truly shocking number of implements out of his pack and prepared them a meal of lemon and herb-crusted grilled chicken, baked potatoes and steamed mixed vegetables.

Draco devoured his serving with decidedly less decorum than he would usually deploy, feeling ravenous after the gruelling physical activity of the day. After eating, and with slightly more energy now, Draco cleaned their dishes and they spent the rest of the evening sitting around the fire, just talking.

“Are you cold?” Harry asked after Draco shivered and shifted his chair closer to the fire.

“A little,” he conceded. Harry transfigured another small twig into a log and threw it on the fire before instructing Draco to stand up and converting the single into a cosy double.

“That better?” Harry asked as they settled in, his arm thrown across Draco’s shoulders and pulling him close.

“Mmm, much. You’re always so hot,” Draco sighed contentedly, slipping his hands under Harry’s shirt to make direct contact with Harry’s warm skin.

“You’re pretty fit yourself,” Harry joked, squirming when Draco tickled him in retaliation.

“I’m definitely a few notches above ‘pretty fit’, excuse you!” Draco accused before settling his head back against Harry’s collarbone, his head nestled against the other man’s neck.

“Okay, you’re fit. Very fit.” When Draco didn’t react, Harry continued, “You’re outrageously attractive and every day that I am with you I thank Merlin that you deem me worthy of basking in the glory of your presence.”

Draco looked up and beamed at his boyfriend. “That’s more like it.” Harry grinned down at him and then they were drifting closer and their lips met in a slow, tender kiss which steadily grew in intensity until there was a loud cracking sound from the surrounding woods and Draco pulled away abruptly. “What was that?”

Harry looked around their campsite, but the sun had long since descended and the surrounding forest was nothing but a confusing mess of dark stripes interspersed with darker shadows. He squinted but was unable to make out anything beyond the reach of the firelight. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Just an animal or something.”

Draco eyed the woods nervously—surely if it had been an animal, there would have been more than just the one sound? The woods, which had become so peaceful as the sun had set and the soft breeze had rustled the leaves, now seemed ominous and threatening; the wind had picked up and was causing an eerie whistling noise to surround them, triggering goosebumps to form across the back of his neck.

Just then, a loud rumbling sound rolled across the sky and both men looked skyward to find the stars and moon obscured by a front of dark clouds. “I think that’s our cue to retire to the tent,” Harry said, pulling out his wand and casting an _Aguamenti_ at the fire until the flames were completely extinguished.

“Camping in the rain...what a fun idea,” Draco stated flatly, eyeing the aged tent suspiciously.

“Don’t worry, Draco. The tent is waterproof. We used it the entire time we were camping while hunting the Horcruxes during the war. I never once woke up in a puddle of water. And that was even before Hermione helped me with all of the upgrades. You’re going to love this,” Harry assured him, taking his hand and interlacing their fingers as he tugged Draco towards the tent’s entrance.

Another rumble of thunder sounded and Draco threw a scowl at the sky; camping was already a dubious enough proposition without throwing inclement weather into the mix. The offending heavens disappeared from view as Harry pulled him through the flap and into the tent and Draco, shockingly, found himself at a loss for words.

Far from the canvas nightmare he had envisioned, the inside of the tent was quite spacious and was decorated in an Alpine style that would fit perfectly in a chalet in the Swiss Alps. There was a medium-sized cast iron chiminea to the left, with a seating set arranged around it. To the right was a small breakfast nook area with a round table with four wooden bistro chairs arranged around it and a small, rudimentary kitchen which ran the length of the tent with an island of cupboards separating it from the living space of the tent. Towards the back of the tent, there was a separate room sectioned off which Draco could see through the open door contained a huge clawfoot bathtub that was big enough for two in it. A metal spiral staircase in the back led up to a loft where, looking up, Draco could see a bed made up with rich-looking textiles. He looked longingly between the voluptuous bed and roomy bath, unsure of which looked like a better plan at the moment.

“Well, does it meet your approval?” Harry asked, looking smug.

Draco schooled his expression and forcefully shrugged, affecting nonchalance. “It’s not as terrible as I thought it would be.”

“High praise, coming from you,” Harry chuckled before slipping his hands onto Draco’s hips and pulling him in toward him. Draco slipped his arms around Harry’s neck and held him tightly.

“It will suffice, especially since I plan for us to spend the majority of our time here otherwise occupied.” He grinned as Harry let out a groan and dragged them more firmly together so that Draco could feel the beginning stirrings of Harry’s arousal against his thigh.

Out of nowhere, the fireplace flared to life behind Harry and Draco barely managed to suppress the undignified shriek as a head emerged from the flames.

“Oh, Harry. Thank goodness. I just wanted to check-in and make sure that you two made it and got everything set up alright,” Hermione said, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that she had barged in on them at an inopportune moment.

Harry gave him a sheepish grin and then pulled away, walking over and kneeling in front of the small fire in the chiminea to address his friend.

“Hello, Hermione,” Draco waved briefly at the floating fire head as he walked over to stand behind his boyfriend. “Thank you for helping Harry with the tent upgrades,” he said, using the formal tone that he couldn’t seem to stop using with her, despite having been dating Harry for two years now.

“You’re very welcome, Draco. I’m glad that you like it,” Hermione returned. Harry tilted his head back to look up at him, an amused look on his face.

“What, no bow?” he asked mockingly. He always found Hermione and Draco’s formality with each other highly amusing. Draco flicked his ear.

“I’m going to go freshen up after that hike.” Turning to Hermione, he wished her a good evening and then walked over to the bathroom and began filling the giant copper tub with hot water from his wand. Once the bath was full and an opaque fog was rising from the surface, Draco slid out of his clothes and slipped under the water, the many kinks in his muscles instantly beginning to ease as the hot water worked its own special kind of magic.

“Hermione says to sleep well.” Draco turned to find Harry standing in the doorway of the bathroom, his arms crossed and his eyes watching Draco with intention. Draco dipped down, letting his head be submerged beneath the water and then rose again, slicking his hair back and out of his face.

“Mmm,” Draco hummed in a mixture of agreement and simple relaxation.

“And I shut down the outside Floo connection, so we shouldn’t have any more interruptions.”

Draco languidly turned his head to where Harry was still standing. “Are you waiting for an engraved invitation?”

Harry grinned devilishly at him before furiously stripping and slipping into the water and planting himself between Draco’s spread legs, water sloshing over the edge. “Mmmm, this feels so fantastic,” Harry sighed, settling back against Draco’s chest, his knees poking up out of the water.

Draco didn’t reply, just ran his hands over Harry’s darker skin, appreciating the defined lines of his muscles. He smelled smokey from the campfire, and it so perfectly suited him that Draco thought he might have to rethink his previous position on camping and make this a regular thing. 

It was then that the skies opened up and a steady patter of rain began to fall, filling the tent with the soft plinking sounds of water on canvas. Draco was just inspecting the ceiling of the tent, one hand absently circling the sloping rim of Harry’s belly button under the water when a flash of lightning lit up the area outside of the tent and Draco jumped.

“What? What’s wrong?” Harry asked, tipping his head up and to the side to look back at Draco, whose eyes were riveted to the side of the tent, not three feet away.

“I thought...I thought I saw someone out there,” Draco whispered, his body shooting from languid relaxation to tense fear with the adrenaline rushing through his system.

Harry turned to look where Draco’s eyes were fixated. Another flash of lightning up the sky, but the shadow that Draco could have sworn he’d seen before wasn’t there.

“Draco, there’s nothing there.”

Draco made a conscious effort to relax, but he couldn’t shake the creeping sensation of being watched. “Yeah...yeah, I guess. Did you set wards around the tent?”

Harry placed his hands on Draco’s bent knees and used them to pull himself up, twisting his torso around to look at Draco. “Are you okay?”

Draco shook his head, trying to shake the paranoid thoughts loose. “No...I mean, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” He couldn’t stop his eyes from trailing their way back to the tent canvas where the ominous shadow had been.

“I tell you what, how about you head up to the loft and get comfortable while I set a few protection wards around the campsite and when I get back, I’ll give you a nice, relaxing massage. How does that sound?” Harry asked, leaning in and letting his hand stroke Draco’s flaccid penis under the water, smiling cockily as it—as usual—rose at Harry’s beck and call.

Draco nodded and gave Harry one of the special, fond looks that he reserved for Harry alone. He was pretty sure he was being silly and he was even more sure that Harry thought he was being silly, but Harry was willing to go out of his way to ease his concerns anyway. Draco leaned forward and snagged Harry’s lips with a kiss. “You’re too good for me.”

Harry blushed and Draco loved that even after two years, he could still make Harry blush over something so simple. He leaned in again and took Harry’s lips in another long, soft kiss, not in service of anything more, but rather just an unhurried appreciation of familiar terrain. When he pulled away, Harry remained where he was, eyes closed as if savouring the lingering sensation. Draco raised his hand and ran the water-wrinkled flesh of his thumb over Harry’s thin lower lip.

Harry’s eyes slid open and he puckered his lips to kiss Draco’s thumb before smiling lazily. Draco loved these looks of Harry’s: like Draco had the power to sweep away all of Harry’s concerns with a simple kiss. They made Draco feel powerful, and useful, and special.

A cool breeze blew through the tent and Draco cast a look towards the tent’s entrance, but there was nothing there. 

Harry grinned goofily at him and then pushed himself to standing and Draco found himself temporarily distracted by the rivulets of water trailing down Harry’s back and into the crack of his arse. Unable to resist the temptation, Draco reached up and traced the path of one droplet down his lower spine, over the crest of his arse and down between the two full cheeks, the way slippery and inviting from the bathwater.

Harry twisted around and smirked down at him. “Has there been a change of plans, then?” he asked, bending forward a bit in a taunting tease.

Draco continued running his finger down through the wet heat until he felt the wrinkled folds of Harry’s anus before pulling his hand back and smacking Harry loudly on one cheek. “Nice try. You promised me a massage and I intend to cash in on that promise. Now get going.”

Laughing, Harry grabbed one of the bushy towels that were piled on a small table beside the bath and wrapped it around his waist as he stepped out of the tub and dug through his pile of clothes on the floor until he found his wand. “I’ll be right back,” he promised, before padding out of the bathroom towards the tent entrance.

“You could put on some clothes first,” Draco shouted after him.

“No point, I hope!” Harry shouted back and Draco chuckled as he dried himself off. Deciding to take Harry’s cue, Draco wrapped the towel around his waist and then made his way up the circular stairs to the loft, where he was pleased to find a King-size bed made up with a thick duvet and soft, high thread count sheets. There was another chiminea up here with a banked fire in it, waves of heat warming the loft to such a degree that Draco simply dropped the towel to the floor and crawled up onto the bed, laying on his front and resting his head on one of the thick, firm pillows.

He opened his eyes when he heard the creaking of Harry’s steps and watched as he emerged up through the floor, completely naked, his dick swaying with each step. “Please don’t tell me you went out there like that,” Draco accused, laughing.

“What?” Harry asked, feigning innocence. “We’re in nature. This is natural. What’s the problem?”

“Let’s just hope there isn’t anybody out there or else they would have gotten quite the eyeful,” Draco said, shaking his head at Harry’s ridiculousness.

“Don’t worry, I wore a towel. Wards are all up. Nobody will be getting in here,” Harry reassured him as he walked over to the bed and crawled onto it, legs spread around Draco’s hips. Harry’s hands came to rest beside Draco’s armpits and he leaned down, running his nose up the curve of Draco’s spine as he settled his body atop Draco’s.

Draco could feel Harry’s cock filling as he frotted against Draco’s body. “Don’t get any ideas,” Draco threatened. “You owe me a massage.”

Harry huffed a laugh against the nape of his neck before the bed dipped and the heat of Harry’s body disappeared. “A promise is a promise,” he said solemnly as he shuffled forward and sat on Draco’s arse, massaging Draco’s shoulders.

Draco sighed as Harry’s thumbs dug in, releasing the knots in his tense muscles. He could feel a small damp spot on the small of his back where Harry’s dick was leaving a smear of pre-come and he felt his own dick fill in response, pressing into the duvet cover. The room was almost oppressively warm and if it weren’t for the insistent pulsing of arousal rushing through him, Draco could easily slip away into a deep, restful sleep.

“It’s a little hot in here. Do you mind if I close the door on the fireplace?” Harry asked, his hands sliding down Draco’s back, thumbs circling around his sacrum on either side of his spine.

“Nope, I don’t mind,” Draco murmured, swivelling his hips and giving his cock some much-needed friction as Harry climbed off of him. “I’m not sure why you stoked such a large fire when we have a perfectly good duvet here to keep us warm.”

“Draco.” Draco leaned up on his elbows and twisted around to look at Harry, concerned by the tone of his voice. “I didn’t start the fire. You did.”

Draco pushed himself up and flipped over, sitting up and watching Harry for any sign that he was playing some sort of prank on him. Harry’s face didn’t show any signs of deception, and Harry had an absolutely terrible poker-face. “The fire was already going when I came up here.”

They stared at each other, unspeaking, for several moments until the flames licked and spit and a hooded head emerged in the flames. “Run,” a gravelly voice instructed.

Draco started shuffling towards the edge of the bed, fear lancing through him. “Harry, I thought you said you closed the Floo,” he hissed, eyes never leaving the heavy hood of swirling green flames that completely obscured the face of the intruder.

“I did.” Draco chanced a fleeting glance at Harry to see that his face had gone deathly pale and a mask of horror contorted his features. “Nobody can Floo into the tent. The Floo must be coming from _inside_ the tent.”

“Run.”

***

“Oh please, Ron! ‘The call is coming from inside the house’ is the oldest horror movie trick in the book! That’s not scary!” Draco was jolted out of his imagination by Dean’s exclamation. 

Everybody else that was gathered around the campfire laughed and threw marshmallows at Ron and Draco seized on the distraction to try and get his pounding heart under control. That may be a tired trope for everyone else here, but he’d never been raised with Muggle movies so the story had been novel and really quite terrifying for him.

Harry turned towards him still laughing and Draco watched as the joyful look transitioned into one of concern. “Draco, are you okay?”

Draco forced a feeble attempt at a reassuring smile on his face, but it quickly melted away as there was a crack of wood in the forest just behind them and he spun around in terror.

Harry shifted closer to him and wrapped his arm around Draco’s back, pulling him close, Harry’s mouth resting just above Draco’s ear, in his hair. “It’s okay, D,” he soothed. “It’s just a scary campfire story. It’s a Muggle tradition to try and scare one another while sitting around the campfire.”

“Well, it’s barbaric,” Draco muttered, glad that everyone else was distracted, Dean now taking his turn at scaring the bejeebers out of everyone.

Harry huffed a laugh, the breath swirling in and around the thin strands of Draco’s hair and tickling his temple. “Don’t worry. If there’s a crazy killer in the woods, I’ll throw myself in front of you to protect you.”

“You’d better,” Draco replied, not entirely sure if he was joking as he shifted closer to Harry and wrapped his arm around his midsection.


End file.
